Jul 6, 2010

In my opinion, it’s the people that are the most rewarding subjects to shoot when visiting some place new; and while stopping to ask someone to pose for your shot will either get you a smile or that quick wave of rejection, the photo that you end up with usually looks a bit rehearsed. One thing you’ll find that people from all over have in common is that

Jun 15, 2010

What does it take to shoot sharp pictures in low light conditions? Stability: Keeping the camera steady is the number one most important thing to keep in mind when shooting in low light. Tripods are the easiest way to insure a sharp photo, but setting the camera down on a solid, level surface will work well too. Leaning your body against a wall, tree or other

It’s as important as checking up on and cleaning a baby’s backside I haven’t had to watch a diaper-wearing baby in quite awhile and hope it stays that way. However, I thought this would make a great analogy. If you were going out somewhere in public with your little tyke in tow, you’d probably check out their rear end before you left the house and

Train your eyes to find patterns or designs when you travel. Then fill your viewfinder or LCD screen with them for some one of a kind travel photos. Sometimes the designs are things you see everyday, maybe, you walk right over them without even giving them a second thought. A spiral staircase or a manhole cover for example, may make an eye-catching picture if

One of the times you can break all the rules of photography and get away with it, creating silhouettes, can produce some dramatic pictures. What do I mean, “break the rules”, what would you want to do that for? Well, it’s for when you want the subject to deliberately be underexposed and you have a brightly lit background to show it against. The subject

Another element of composition sometimes used in photography is called Framing. Frames come in all sizes, shapes and designs when you go looking for them in stores. I’ve seen standard horizontal and vertical ones, triangular, circular, ovals and even some heart, keyhole or cloud-shaped picture frames. With a little imagination and some patience, you can find

When you stand on a country road and look down the length of it, the road appears to narrow. If it’s lined with a fenced-in pasture, the fence posts appear smaller the farther away from you they are. We live in a three dimensional world but, our photos are two dimensional. When composing a photo with perspective in mind you can use it to give the picture

Ladies and Gentlemen, the answer to the $64,000 question is: This is a Leading Line. It has nothing to do with photography but, if it got you to look a little closer at my Camera Talk today, it worked. It’s a little trick you can use in your photographic technique, too. While you’re composing a shot: Look around and find some lines to draw attention to your

Whether it’s an old barn, wooden pier, deck, row of houses or something like the abandoned boat it the photo shown here, there are a few tricks you can employ to make the grain in the wood stand out. The direction the light source comes from is critical. In this photo, the sun was shining from off to the right; you can see the shadow from the tree. Maximum

Aperture settings on your camera allow you to be creative. Depth of Field (DOF) determines how much area in the photo comes into sharp focus when the photo is composed. A broad (wide) Depth of Field will put most of the picture in sharp focus while a narrow DOF will isolate the subject from the background. Think before you shoot. If you’d like to capture a

One of the most important investments a traveler can make in buying accessories for a camera is the tripod. When I go to look at tripods anyone who knows me makes an excuse to not come along that day. I embarrass them. Only the salespeople, who know I’m about to spend big bucks with, want to be near me. I set up every tripod on display and fill up the whole

Correct exposure on a photograph is confusing for a lot of people. That’s why so many camera manufacturers compete with each other to provide the best of the best Automatic features and Modes on their brand. You can take fairly decent photos in Auto Mode but, once you learn the basics of proper exposure and apply them your picture taking skills will improve

Take a second of your time when shooting a treasure discovered during your travels. Yes, a full second, that’s what it takes sometimes when you are trying to capture a sharp photo in difficult lighting. Museums, caves, art and sculpture exhibits, anything that lacks a bit of natural lighting can present challenges to the digital camera. The most important one:

Today, I’m posting two photos in order to give a quick demonstration on the difference between two file formats used by photographers. It used to be pretty much only professional photographers or really serious hobbyists would bother using RAW when taking pictures. But, nowadays, lots of people are getting into the act. Until recently RAW files weren’t

Natural light is always the best choice when using your camera outdoors. Camera flash is always my last resort for eliminating harsh shadows, but sometimes it’s the only available solution. Had this Queen been modeling for me, I’d have used a reflector board and bounced some of the bright sunlight outside her carriage into the scene to lighten the dark